Game device, picture data and flare forming method

• US 6,234,901 B1
• Filed: 11/21/1997
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Inventors: Kazama, Takayuki, Nagoshi, Toshihiro, Masuda, Takuji, Koiwa, Koki, Ikawa, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sager, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOTALING, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US08/975,966
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 463/30, 463/31, 463/32, 463/33, 463/34, 345/426, 345/475, 345/421, 345/473, 345/422, 345/418, 345/112-115, 345/133, 345/135, 434/38, 434/43, 434/44, 434/62, 434/69
• US Class Current: 463/33
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/50 Lighting effects

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide special effects which will make a video game more realistic.

When a virtual light source exists in a three-dimensional virtual space, if a light from the light source extends toward a camera, a flare is generated on a screen because of incidence of the ray of light into a camera lens, thereby forming a dazzling picture in accordance with the state of backlight.

Claims

1. A game device for displaying, as a picture, a scene having come into view by moving a visual point in a three-dimensional virtual space, said game device comprising flare processing means for forming a flare in said picture when a light source exists within view of said visual point, said flare processing means comprising:

line-of-sight vector generating means for obtaining a line-of-sight vector which shows a line-of-sight direction of said visual point;

ray vector generating means for obtaining a ray vector which shows a direction of the light source from said visual point;

inner product calculating means for calculating an inner product of said line-of-sight vector and say ray vector; and

flare forming means for forming a flare having intensity according to said inner product in said picture.

2. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said flare processing means further comprises determining means for activating said flare forming means on the basis of results of comparison of said inner product with a reference value.

3. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said flare forming means increases a degree of whiteness of said picture in accordance with said inner product.

4. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said flare forming means forms a picture of a flare polygon having transparency according to said inner product.

5. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said flare forming means conducts, with said inner product being between a predetermined upper limit and a predetermined lower limit, the processing to add whiteness to the picture according to said inner product and/or the processing to form a flare polygon having transparency according to said inner product.

6. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said flare forming means forms said flare on a straight line linking said visual point with said light source.

7. A game device according to claim 1, wherein said game device further comprises a medium with a program stored thereon for making a computer system function as a game device.

8. A game device for displaying, as a picture, a scene having come into view by moving a visual point in a three-dimensional virtual space, said game device comprising flare processing means for forming a flare in said picture when a light source exists within view of said visual point, said flare processing means determining a degree of said flare in accordance with a position of said light source within view and/or intensity of said light source.

9. A game device according to claim 8, wherein said flare processing means determines the degree of said flare by referring to a table containing a group of flare values, said table matching the degree of said flare to the position of said light source within view and/or the intensity of said light source.

10. A game device according to claim 8, wherein said flare processing means finds the degree of said flare by using a function including as a variable of the position of said light source within view and/or the intensity of said light source.

11. A game device according to claim 8, wherein said flare processing means expresses the flare by displaying, on a screen, a flat figure having a comparatively higher degree of whiteness than that of the background or a hollow flat figure.

12. A game device according to claim 11, wherein said flare processing means repeats display and no display of said flare in a short period of time.

13. A game device according to claim 8, wherein said flare processing means displays a plurality of said flares on a straight line corresponding to an incident ray.

14. A game device according to claim 12, wherein said plurality of flares displayed include similar figures.

15. A game device according to claim 8, wherein said light source is a virtual sun located in said three-dimensional virtual space, said sun being relocated from a normal position in said three-dimensional virtual space to a position within view of a predetermined scene in order to generate said flare in said picture on the predetermined scene.